Lenox Library's Distinguished Lecture Series: History of US-China Relations

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LENOX, Mass. — The Lenox Library's 15th Annual Distinguished Lecture Series will continue on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.
 
Dr. Eugenio Menegon, Associate Professor of History at Boston University, will discuss the history of US-China relations from 1776 to today.
 
Due to recent COVID directives, this event will take place via Zoom. Meeting details may be found on the Library's website at https://lenoxlib.org or the Library's Facebook page.
 
According to a press release:
 
In order to understand today's complex relations between the US and China, we need to know the deep roots of the relationship between our two countries. This lecture will explore in creative ways how both sides, Chinese and American, have seen the other, and how the people (leaders and commoners alike), religions, educational, and medical systems, economies, and the militaries, have interacted with each other over the span of the last three centuries. The lecture will also explain, in historical perspective, why the China-US relationship is so important for the world today, even if it is often fraught with misunderstandings and competition. 
 
Professor Eugenio Menegon has published extensively on the history of Chinese-Western relations, and is the author of two books: "One Single Sky: Geography, Art," "Science, and Religion in Europe and China and Ancestors," "Virgins, and Friars: Christianity as a Local Religion in Late Imperial China," which was the recipient of the 2011 Joseph Levenson Book Prize in Chinese Studies. 
 
Dr. Menegon has been Research Fellow in Chinese Studies at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), Junior and Senior Fellow at the BU Humanities Foundation, and the An Wang Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University. He has held appointments as visiting scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Beijing), the Beijing Center for Chinese Studies, the Ricci Institute at the University of San Francisco, the University "L'Orientale" in Naples, the University of Padua, and the Cini Foundation, Venice. He was Director of the Boston University Center for the Study of Asia in 2012-15, and has been a research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College, as well as the recipient of the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Scholar Grant.  
 
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Lenox Library to Screen 'Banned Together' Documentary

LENOX, Mass. — In response to the growing trend of book bans sweeping across the nation, Lenox Library will host a private, pre-release screening of the documentary film Banned Together, the first completed feature film to cover book banning, censorship, and students' fight for intellectual freedom, particularly in relation to the rights of marginalized students in the United States.

The screening is free and open to the public, and will take place on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. in the Lenox Town Hall Auditorium, located at 6 Walker Street, Lenox.  A Q&A with director Kate Way will follow the screening.

According to a press release:

Featuring a dynamic cast of young activists, intense public protests, personal threats, criminal accusations, and highly charged school board meetings, Banned Together sheds light on the escalating issue of book bans and the censorship of curricula in public schools.

The documentary follows the courageous efforts of three students from Beaufort, South Carolina, who take a stand when 97 books are abruptly removed from their school libraries. As these students rise to become national voices in the fight against censorship, the film captures the broader narrative of book banning and curriculum censorship across the United States. Banned Together offers viewers a comprehensive look at both sides of the debate and provides an inside perspective on the heated battles occurring in schools and legislatures. This community's story is interwoven with the larger national landscape of book banning, including interviews with best-selling authors, policymakers, and experts.

The film features interviews with best-selling authors whose works have been banned, including Jodi Picoult, Juno Dawson, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Ellen Hopkins, and Erica L. Sánchez. It also includes insights from Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin, constitutional scholars, educators, librarians, parents, and student activists from across the country. The film also features discussions with representatives from the ACLU, PEN America, the American Library Association, and Moms for Liberty.

Producers Jennifer Wiggin and Allyson Rice of Atomic Focus, along with directors Kate Way and Tom Wiggin, were inspired by the activism of these young students and the vast scope of this rapidly evolving national issue. The post-production was led by award-winning editor Cha Quallis.

Visit https://lenoxlib.org or the Library's Facebook page for more information

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